Hackers with ties to China represent the most significant espionage danger facing technology companies in the past year, according to a cybersecurity firm’s report released Tuesday. CrowdStrike’s findings come as artificial intelligence investments continue to skyrocket.
These cyber attacks correspond with strategic objectives of the Chinese government and reflect ongoing focus on technology advancement, intellectual property theft, and obtaining information with strategic and economic importance, according to the firm.
Technology companies remained the primary target for both foreign governments and criminal hackers, the analysis revealed. The research examined threats against businesses involved in computer hardware research and development, technology distribution, IT consulting services, semiconductor manufacturing, and software creation. CrowdStrike chose not to name which specific companies were targeted.
Chinese embassy officials in Washington rejected the report’s conclusions.
The study covers the period from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026, during a time of intense investment activity and high valuations for technology companies, particularly those working in artificial intelligence – making them attractive targets, explained Adam Meyers, CrowdStrike’s senior vice president and head of counter adversary operations.
On April 23, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy charged China-based organizations with conducting “deliberate, industrial-scale campaigns” to secretly extract U.S.-developed models for their own use, citing a recent incident.
“There is an AI arms race occurring between the U.S. and China, and China intends to achieve global dominance by 2030,” Meyers said, noting the threat to major frontier labs along with smaller, domain-specific model developers.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said “China opposes hacking activities and fights such activities in accordance with the law,” and that it rejects “vilification and smears under the pretext of cybersecurity.” The spokesperson added that China and the U.S. need to work together on AI development and governance, and that during Trump’s recent visit “the two heads of state had constructive exchanges on AI and agreed to launch government-to-government dialogue on AI.”
Hacking operations from North Korea “posed a major threat,” the analysis found, especially through tactics where North Korean agents assume false identities to obtain remote IT positions at technology companies. These workers send most of their paychecks back to the Pyongyang government, while their inside access creates opportunities for gathering intelligence.
Hacking organizations linked to Russia and Iran also extensively target technology sectors in the U.S. and other countries for intelligence gathering and sometimes launch destructive malware attacks.
The analysis also noted increased hacking activity from profit-driven cybercriminal organizations targeting technology companies during the same timeframe, including a 30% rise in advertisements from hackers offering access to various targets.
